Valdez ( ;
Alutiiq
The Alutiiq people (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a sout ...
: ) is a city in the
Chugach Census Area
Chugach Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. It is part of the Unorganized Borough and therefore has no borough seat. On January 2, 2019, it was split from the Valdez–Cordova Census Area (of which it c ...
in the U.S. state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. According to the 2020 US Census, the population of the city is 3,985, up from 3,976 in 2010.
It is the
third most populated city in Alaska's
Unorganized Borough
The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough," it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level of ...
.
The city was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister
Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
. A former
Gold Rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
town, it is located at the head of
Port Valdez
Port Valdez is a fjord of Prince William Sound in Alaska, United States. Its main settlement is Valdez, located near the head of the bay. It marks the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The bay is oriented east-west and it ...
on the eastern side of
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
. The port did not flourish until after the road link to
Fairbanks
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
was constructed in 1899. It suffered catastrophic damage during the
1964 Alaska earthquake
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27. , and is located near the site of the disastrous 1989
Exxon Valdez
''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wi ...
oil tanker spill. Today, it is one of the most important ports in Alaska, a
commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
port as well as a freight terminal. Valdez is also the terminus for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
History
![Valdez, Alaska (1905)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Valdez%2C_Alaska_%281905%29.png)
The port of Valdez was named in 1790 by the Spanish explorer
Salvador Fidalgo
Salvador Fidalgo y Lopegarcía (6 August 1756 – 27 September 1803) was a Spanish explorer. He commanded an exploring expedition for Spain to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century.
Early career
Fidalgo was born in La Seu ...
after the Spanish naval officer
Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
. A scam to lure prospectors off the Klondike Gold Rush trail led to a town being developed there in 1898. Some steamship companies promoted the Valdez Glacier Trail as a better route for miners to reach the
Klondike gold fields and discover new ones in the Copper River country of interior Alaska than that from
Skagway
The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...
. The prospectors who believed the promotion found that they had been deceived. The glacier trail was twice as long and steep as reported, and many men died attempting the crossing, in part by contracting
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
during the long cold winter without adequate supplies. The town did not flourish until after the construction of the
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It ...
in 1899, which connected Valdez and Fairbanks. With a new road and its
ice-free port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
, Valdez became permanently established as the first overland supply route into the interior of Alaska. The highway was open in summer-only until 1950, when it was operated as a year-round route.
[Paragraph edited by the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive Mar 2009]
![McKinley Avenue, Valdez, Alaska, June 24, 1908 (COBB 144)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/McKinley_Avenue%2C_Valdez%2C_Alaska%2C_June_24%2C_1908_%28COBB_144%29.jpeg)
In 1907, a shootout between two rival railroad companies ended Valdez's hope of becoming the railroad link from tidewater to the Kennicott Copper Mine. The mine, located in the heart of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains, was one of the richest copper ore deposits on the continent. The exact location of the right-of-way dispute, in which one man was killed and several injured, is located at the southern entrance of
Keystone Canyon on the Valdez side. A half-completed tunnel in the canyon marks the end of railroad days in Valdez. A rail line to Kennicott was later established from the coastal city of Cordova.
Good Friday earthquake
The city of Valdez was badly shaken and damaged in the 1964
Good Friday earthquake
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27. .
Soil liquefaction
Soil liquefaction occurs when a cohesionless saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress such as shaking during an earthquake or other sudden change in stress condition, in ...
of the glacial silt that formed the city's foundation led to a massive underwater landslide, which caused a section of the city's shoreline to break off and sink into the sea. The underwater soil displacement caused a local
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
high that traveled westward, away from the city and down Valdez Bay. 32 men, women, and children were on the city's main freight dock to help with and watch the unloading of the SS ''Chena,'' a supply ship that came to Valdez regularly. All 32 people died as the dock collapsed into the ocean with the violent landslide. There were no deaths in the town.
![Alaska pipeline route near Valdez River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Alaska_pipeline_route_near_Valdez_River.jpg)
Residents continued to live there for an additional three years while a new site was being prepared on more stable ground away. The new construction was supervised by the
Army Corps of Engineers. They transported 54 houses and buildings by truck to the new site, to re-establish the new city at its present location. The original town site was dismantled, abandoned and eventually burned down.
Trans-Alaska pipeline
From 1975 to 1977, the
Trans-Alaska pipeline
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...
was built to carry oil from the
Prudhoe Bay
Prudhoe Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 2,174 people, up from just five residents in the 2000 census; however, at any give ...
oil fields in northern Alaska to a
terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
in Valdez, the nearest ice-free port.
Oil is loaded onto tanker ships for transport. The construction and operation of the pipeline and terminal boosted the economy of Valdez. The first tanker to be loaded with pipeline oil was the ''
ARCO
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
Juneau'' in early August 1977, bound for the
Cherry Point Refinery
The Cherry Point Refinery is an oil refinery in the northwest United States, near Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle. Owned by BP, is the largest refinery in Washington state (and was the 30th largest in the U.S. in 2015). The last refine ...
in
The 1989
''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred as the oil tanker ''
Exxon Valdez
''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wi ...
'' was leaving the terminal at Valdez full of oil. The spill occurred at
Bligh Reef, about from Valdez. Although the oil did not reach Valdez, it devastated much of the marine life in the surrounding area. The clean-up of the oil caused a short-term boost to the economy of Valdez.
2014 avalanches
On January 24, 2014, a major avalanche occurred just outside Valdez at Mile 16 near Keystone Canyon, prompting the closure of the only highway in or out of town. On January 25, Alaska DOT triggered another massive slide that further choked the roadway. Due to weather conditions at the time, the avalanche dammed the Lowe River, creating a half-mile-long lake that stalled snow removal efforts for nearly a week. The blockage was dubbed the "Damalanche" by local city officials after a name coined by local resident, Joshua Buffington. News of this event spread to media outlets nationwide. Once the water receded, crews worked around the clock to clear about 200,000 cubic yards of snow in five days. No one was injured during this incident.
Geography
Valdez is located at . According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (19.88%) is water.
Valdez is located near the head of a deep
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
in the
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound (Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Tr ...
in Alaska. It is surrounded by the
Chugach Mountains
The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain ...
, which are heavily glaciated; nearby Shoup Glacier, which feeds
Shoup Bay, served as a source of ice for residents of the town at the turn of the 20th century. Valdez is the northernmost port in North America that is ice-free year-round. The northernmost point of the coastal
Pacific temperate rain forest
The Pacific temperate rainforests of western North America is the largest temperate rain forest region on the planet as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (other definitions exist). The Pacific temperate rainforests lie along the western side of ...
is in Valdez, on
Blueberry Hill
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940, best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Larry Stock and Al Lewis. It was recorded six times in 1940 ...
. The only road access is via the
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It ...
, which traverses
Thompson Pass
Thompson Pass is a 2,600 foot-high (855 meter-high) gap in the Chugach Mountains northeast of Valdez, Alaska.Geographic Names Information Service"Thompson Pass, Alaska" U.S. Geological Survey. Accessed July 2, 2009. It is the snowiest place in Al ...
and
Keystone Canyon to end at Valdez.
Climate
Despite the presence of temperate rainforest, Valdez under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
has a
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
(''Dfc''): its winters, though much warmer than most climates of this type, are not sufficiently mild, as those of, say,
Ketchikan
Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District.
With a population at the 20 ...
,
Kodiak Kodiak may refer to:
Places
*Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island
* Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community
*Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska
*Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago
** Kodiak Launch Com ...
, or even nearby
Cordova are, to fit into the
oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
or
subpolar oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
category.
According to the Weather Channel and NOAA, Valdez is the snowiest city in the United States, with an average of almost per year. There have been more than of snow in five separate months (not all in the same year).
Demographics
![Totem in Valdez, Alaska with mountain background](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Totem_in_Valdez%2C_Alaska_with_mountain_background.jpg)
Valdez first appeared on the 1900 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of "Valdes." It formally incorporated as Valdez in 1901, and has reported in every successive census. The original townsite was relocated in 1967 from the east side to the north side of Port Valdez after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, but still lays within the present city limits.
As of the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 3,976 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 78.6% White, 0.6% Black, 7.6% Native American or Alaska Native, 1.9% Asian, 0.8% Pacific Islander and 5.8% from two or more races. 4.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,036 people, 1,494 households, and 1,042 families living in the city. The population density was 18.2 people per square mile (7.0/km
2). There were 1,645 housing units at an average density of 7.4 per square mile (2.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.62%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.42%
Black or African American, 7.19%
Native American or Alaska Native, 2.18%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.45%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 1.41% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.73% from
two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
. 3.96% of the population were
Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
There were 1,494 households, out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.15.
The age distribution shows 29.7% of the population under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,532, and the median income for a family was $74,188. Males had a median income of $56,932 versus $31,855 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $27,341. About 5.0% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Valdez is a
fishing port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
, both for commercial and
sport fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
.
Freight
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...
moves through Valdez bound for the interior of Alaska. Sightseeing of the marine life and glaciers, together with both deep-sea fishing, and heli skiing support a tourist industry in Valdez. The oil from the
Trans-Alaska pipeline
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...
is loaded onto ships at the Valdez oil terminal.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
The Alyeska consortium refers to the major oil companies that own and operate the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) through the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.
History
The Alaska corporation commonly known as Alyeska Pipeline Company was fou ...
is one of the biggest employers in Valdez.
Valdez is connected to the interior of Alaska by the
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It ...
, and is a port of call in the
Alaska Marine Highway
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...
ferry system. Just north of Valdez on the highway is
Thompson Pass
Thompson Pass is a 2,600 foot-high (855 meter-high) gap in the Chugach Mountains northeast of Valdez, Alaska.Geographic Names Information Service"Thompson Pass, Alaska" U.S. Geological Survey. Accessed July 2, 2009. It is the snowiest place in Al ...
, which has spectacular waterfalls and glaciers next to the highway. Thompson Pass is also known for treacherous driving conditions during the winter.
The
Valdez Airport, also known as Pioneer Field, has regular scheduled service with
Ravn Alaska
Northern Pacific Airways, Inc., d.b.a. Ravn Alaska, is an Alaskan airline that specializes in serving the small communities in the US state of Alaska. The airline is headquartered in Anchorage, which is also home to its primary hub, Ted Steve ...
.
Valdez hosted the
World Extreme Skiing Championship (WESC) in the early 1990s.
Media and culture
Despite its small size, Valdez was at one time home to two weekly newspapers, the ''Valdez Star'' and the ''Valdez Vanguard''. In 2004, the ''Star'' bought out the ''Vanguard''.
Valdez is also home to radio broadcasters
KCHU
KCHU (770 AM) is a non-commercial radio station in Valdez, Alaska, United States. Through its main transmitter, two full-service FM stations, and two translators,
the station covers an area the size of the state of Ohio, but with a population j ...
,
KVAK, and
KVAK-FM.
Valdez is also home to the
Last Frontier Theatre Conference Renamed in 2021, the Valdez Theatre Conference is an annual conference on Theatre, American Theatre held in Valdez, Alaska, Valdez, Alaska that focuses on playwrighting. Continually held each year since 1993, the conference puts out a call for play ...
, hosted by the
Prince William Sound College. The annual conference attracts playwrights and actors from around the United States.
''
On Deadly Ground
''On Deadly Ground'' is a 1994 American environmental action adventure film directed, co-produced by, and starring Steven Seagal, and co-starring Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C. McGinley and R. Lee Ermey. It is Seagal's only directorial effort ...
'' (1994) was filmed near Worthington Glacier, as well as the Valdez Civic Center and Valdez Airport, and outside Valdez on Thompson Pass in the
Chugach Mountains
The Chugach Mountains of southern Alaska are the northernmost of the several mountain ranges that make up the Pacific Coast Ranges of the western edge of North America. The range is about long and wide, and extends from the Knik and Turnagain ...
.
Oil terminal
![Valdez Marine Terminal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Valdez_Marine_Terminal.jpg)
The Valdez Marine Terminal is an
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
port in Valdez, at the southern end of the
Alaska Pipeline
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of ...
. The terminal was the point of departure for the ''Exxon Valdez'' just prior to the oil spill.
There are 14 active aboveground crude oil storage tanks at the terminal, and an average of three to five
oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
s depart from the terminal each week. Since the pipeline became operational in 1976, more than 15,000 tankers full of oil have left the terminal.
The terminal has 2 operational loading berths.
Notable people
*
Neva Egan
Desdia Neva Egan (October 3, 1914 – January 19, 2011) was an American educator who served as the first First Lady of Alaska from the state's creation in 1959 to 1966, and again from 1970 to 1974. Egan was the wife of the state of Alaska's fir ...
(1914–2011), first
First Lady of Alaska (1959–1966, 1970–1974)
*
William A. Egan (1914–1984), first
Governor of Alaska
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
(1959–1966, 1970–1974)
*
Robert Campbell Reeve
Robert Campbell Reeve (March 27, 1902 – August 25, 1980) was an American pilot, who was the founder of Reeve Aleutian Airways. He was the Republican nominee for the 1952 House election against incumbent Bob Bartlett.
Childhood
Reeve was born ...
(1902–1980), Valdez-based bush pilot; founder of
Reeve Aleutian Airways
Reeve Aleutian Airways was an airline headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. It ceased operations on December 5, 2000.
History Founding
In February 1946, Bob Reeve received a call informing him that some ex USAAF C-47s and Dougl ...
*
Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to:
Australian rules football
* Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy
* Bill J. V. Wal ...
(born 1951),
Governor of Alaska
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
*
Ed Walker (1917–2011), second-to-last surviving member of
Castner's Cutthroats
Castner's Cutthroats was the unofficial name for the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon (Provisional), also known as Alaskan Scouts. Castner's Cutthroats fought during World War II and were instrumental in defeating the Japanese during the ...
, former member of the Valdez city council
See also
*
Tanerliq
*
Valdez Blockade
*
Valdez High School
Footnotes
References
External links
*
Visitor informationTourism informationValdez Museum & Historical ArchiveMaxine & Jesse Whitney Museum
{{Authority control
Cities in Alaska
Cities in Chugach Census Area, Alaska
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Mining communities in Alaska
Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean
Populated places established in 1898